This blog is dedicated to treating everyone - clients, prospects, friends, and family - as valuable partners. We should show them our gratitude through all our actions, including our marketing.

November 15, 2015

Just Say No

We all have experienced the prospect who continues to tell
us that they are “just not ready” to purchase whatever we offer. They may say
that they need to gather the funds necessary to make the purchase, or they may
tell us that they are too busy to make the decision “at this moment”. It is the
end of the year; it’s the start of the holidays; it is their busy season; it’s
“not a good time right now”. These are all excuses that we hear.

What is the prospect really telling us? Are they actually
that poor at controlling their business or personal lives? Are they serious
about our product or service and adding it to their life? What do they really
mean to say to us? Is their real message that they will never purchase from us
and they just cannot bring themselves to declare that fact?

We cannot move every prospect whom we meet to the status of
customer or client. It just will never happen. Perhaps there is a financial status
that our offering requires that our prospect will never gain in order to have
the funds to buy from us. Perhaps our offering requires a level of discipline
to implement or utilize that the prospect cannot adapt. Maybe they just do not
want to do business with us personally.

Whatever the reason, we will never be able to add this
prospect to our customer list. It will never happen, no matter how much we
hope, dream, or envision. We have been taught that we should never say never.
For us personally, there are prospects that we will never, ever be able to
secure as customers, and we must realize this fact before we waste any further
time and effort on these prospects.

“Sacrilege”, we say. How can we afford to give up on any
prospect before successfully bringing them into our family of customers? Go for
it; pursue them to the ends of the earth, crossing the line from marketing and
follow-up to the level of stalking. We must realize that it just isn’t going to
happen. Otherwise we will become frustrated and ignore the other prospects to
whom we can market and then be rewarded for our efforts.

We should leave the door open, not insulting these
prospects, but they should no longer be the main object of our efforts. Stay in
touch with them through subtle marketing and let them know that we are still
here, still available to them as networking partners. Perhaps a birthday greeting
or maybe a reminder of a meeting that would be of common interest would be
appropriate. Maybe one day they will see the light.

We must be adults here and not threaten our prospects. We
must make them comfortable enough with our partnership that they can just say
“no” to us and let us stop trying to gain their business. We must make them
referral sources because they know what and who we are, like us for our methods
and approach, and trust us to do the right thing, always. It is not the end of
the world; it should be another moment among friends.

Gratitude Marketing means that we value others
as partners and nurture those relationships that bring great karma to both
parties. It does not mean bitter, all or nothing, relationships. It means that
we can hear “no” from others and not become hostile. It also means that we can
foster environments where our partners are comfortable saying “no” if they
wish, and we can if we wish.

Please leave me your comments, or email me at Jim@JimTeasley.com, or call me at 360-314-8691. A “no” today may mean a “yes” from
somewhere else tomorrow.